List of lunar mountain ranges
By IAU (International Astronomical Union) convention, lunar mountain ranges are given Latin names.
- Montes Agricola
Montes Agricola is an elongated range of mountains near the eastern edge of the central Oceanus Procellarum lunar mare. It lies just to the northwest of a plateau containing the Herodotus and Aristarchus craters. The selenographic coordinates of this range are 29.1° N, 54.2° W. It continues for a distance of 141 km. This range is a long, slender ridge formation that is more rugged at the northeastern end. There is also a rise at the southwest terminus of the range. The faint trace of a ray parallels the range just to the north. The 20 km gap between this range and the plateau to the south is covered by a flow of basaltic-lava. There is a small wrinkle-ridge near the northern part that is identified as Dorsum Niggli. This range is named after Georgius Agricola.
- Montes Alpes
Montes Alpes is a mountain range in the northern part of the Moon's near side. It was named for the Alps in Europe. This range forms the northeastern border of the Mare Imbrium lunar mare. To the west of the range is the level and nearly featureless mare, while on the eastern face is a more rugged continental area with a higher albedo. The range begins about one crater diameter northwest of Cassini crater, at the Promontorium Agassiz, then stretches about 50 kilometres to the northwest then continues in intermittent fashion to the eastern rim of Plato crater. It is in this last stretch that can be found the system of rilles named Rimae Plato. The northwestern third of the range is separated from the remainder of the mountains by the Vallis Alpes, a wide rift valley that extends from a narrow cleft in the Montes Alpes to the northeast, reaching the edge of the Mare Frigoris. The total length of this formation is about 180 km, and it reaches a maximum width of 20 km. Running down the center of this valley is a narrow cleft. About one third the length of the range from the southeast is Mons Blanc, a peak rising to a height of 3.6 km. This compares to a typical height of peaks in this range of 1.8 to 2.4 km. Mid-way between Mons Blanc and the Promontorium Agassiz is the Promontorium Deville. To the southwest of Promontorium Agassiz, is the isolated Mons Piton, a peak rising to a height of 2.3 km.
- Montes Recti
Montes Recti is a mountain range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. It was given the Latin name for "Straight Range". This is a small range of irregular ridges that is located in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium. Montes Recti is an unusually linear formation that forms a line from east to west. It is about 90 km in length, and only 20 km wide. The peaks rise to heights of up to 1.8 km. The small crater 'le Verrier B' lies in the eastern part of the range. To the west are the Montes Jura and to the east are the Montes Teneriffe.
- Montes Riphaeus
Montes Riphaeus (latin for "Riphaeus Mountains") is an irregular range of lunar mountains that lie along the west-northwestern edge of Mare Cognitum, on the southeastern edge of Oceanus Procellarum. The range trends generally from north-northeast to south-southwest. It includes a number of slender ridge lines with valleys flooded by intruding flows of lava. This range is located at selenographic coordinates 7.7° S, 28.1° W. It has a diameter of 189 km, although it is typically only about 30-50 km in width. The nearest feature of note is Euclides, a small but prominent crater to the west. About 100 km to the north is Lansberg crater. The mountain range on the Earth for which these were originally named are now called the Ural Mountains.
- Montes Rook
Montes Rook is a ring-shaped mountain range that lies along the western limb of the Moon, crossing over to the far side. It completely encircles the Mare Orientale, and forms part of a massive impact basin feature. This range in turn is encircled by the larger Montes Cordillera, which is separated from the Montes Rook by a rugged, ring-shaped plain. The Montes Rook is actually a double-ring formation, sometimes divided into the outer rook and the inner rook. Sections of the gap between these sub-ranges contain long valleys filled in places with basaltic-lava, forming small lunar mare. One such section along the northeastern part of the range has been named Lacus Veris. The selenographic coordinates of this range are 20.6° S, 82.5° W, and the diameter is 791 km. The range was named for the English astronomer Lawrence Rook. Due to its location this range is viewed from the edge from Earth, and not much detail can be seen. However a partial view of the range can be obtained by projecting the surface of a globe. This "rectified map" was used to identify the Mare Orientale impact basin. Several named craters are embedded within the Montes Rook. Near the southwest outer edge are the Nicholson and Pettit crater. Kopff crater lies along the eastern inner edge, and Maunder crater on the northern inner side. Smaller craters include Lallemand to the northeast, Shuleykin to the south, and Fryxell in the west. Out of sight from the Earth, even during favorable librations, are the Lowell crater to the northwest, and Golitsyn crater to the west-southwest.
- Montes Secchi
Montes Secchi (latin for "Secchi Mountains") is minor range of lunar mountains that are located near the northwestern edge of Mare Fecunditatis. This roughly linear formation of low ridges grazes the northwestern outer rim of Secchi crater, the formation from which this range gained its name. (The crater is named for Pietro Secchi, a 19th century Italian astronomer.) The ridges trend from southwest to northeast. The selenographic coordinates of the range mid-point are 3.0° N, 43.0° E, and they lie within a diameter of 50 km. This is smaller than the diameter of Taruntius crater, located to the northeast of the mountains.
- Montes Spitzbergen
Montes Spitzbergen (latin for "Spitzbergen Mountains") is a solitary mountain chain in the eastern Mare Imbrium of the Moon. They are located about a crater diameter to the north of the prominent, flooded Archimedes crater. The selenographic coordinates of this range are 35.0° N, 5.0° W, and they lie within a diameter of 60 km. The range trends from south to north, and they have a maximum width of about 25 km. This range consists of a number of peaks separated by lava-flooded valleys. This range is most likely the surviving rim or inner ring of an impact crater that has been buried under magma flows. This range was so named by Mary Blagg for their resemblance to the jagged terrestrial mountains of Spitsbergen island.
- Montes Taurus
Montes Taurus is a rugged, jumbled mountainous region on the Moon. These peaks are located on a highland region to the east of the Mare Serenitatis, in the northeastern quadrant of the Moon's near side. The selenographic coordinates of this range are 28.4° N, 41.1° E, and they have a diameter of 172 km. Some of the peaks within the range achieve heights of 3.0 km. A number of craters lie embedded within this range. At the southwestern edge of the range is Römer crater, and Newcomb crater is located in the northeastern section. Several satellite craters also lie throughout the Montes Taurus. The Montes Taurus were named by Johannes Hevelius for the Taurus Mountains in southern Turkey.
- Montes Teneriffe
Montes Teneriffe is a range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. It was named after Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. This range is located in the northern part of the Mare Imbrium, to the southwest of Plato crater. The Montes Teneriffe lie within a diameter of about 110 kilometers, although the peaks only occupy a small part of that region. The formation consists of a few scattered ridges surrounded by the lunar mare. Individual peaks rise to heights of up to 2.4 km. To the southeast of the range is the solitary Mons Pico.
Mountains
These are isolated mountains or massifs.
Note that the heights listed below are not consitent across sources. In the 1960s, the US Army Mapping Service used elevation relative to 1,737,988 meters from the center of the Moon. In the 1970s, the US Defense Mapping Agency used 1,730,000 meters. The Clementine topographic data published in the 1990s uses 1,737,400 meters.
Also note that this table is not comprehensive, and does not list the highest places on the Moon. Clementine data show a range of about 18,100 meters from lowest to highest point on the Moon. The highest point, located on the far side of the Moon, is approximately 6500 meters higher than Mons Huygens (usually listed as the tallest mountain).
| Name | Lat. / Lon. | Di. | H. | Name Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mons Agnes | 18.6° N 5.3° E | 1 km | Greek feminine name | |
| Mons Ampère | 19.0° N 4.0° W | 30 km | 3.0 km | André-Marie Ampère, physicist |
| Mons André | 5.2° N 120.6° E | 10 km | French masculine name | |
| Mons Ardeshir | 5.0° N 121.0° E | 8 km | Ardashir , Persian ( Iranian ) emperor | |
| Mons Argaeus | 19.0° N 29.0° E | 50 km | Mount Erciyas , Asia Minor | |
| Mons Blanc | 45.0° N 1.0° E | 25 km | 3.6 km | Mont Blanc , the Alps |
| Mons Bradley | 22.0° N 1.0° E | 30 km | 4.2 km | James Bradley , astronomer |
| Mons Delisle | 29.5° N 35.8° W | 30 km | Named after nearby Delisle crater | |
| Mons Dieter | 5.0° N 120.2° E | 20 km | German masculine name | |
| Mons Dilip | 5.6° N 120.8° E | 2 km | Indian masculine name | |
| Mons Esam | 14.6° N 35.7° E | 8 km | Arabic masculine name | |
| Mons Ganau | 4.8° N 120.6° E | 14 km | African masculine name | |
| Mons Gruithuisen Delta | 36.0° N 35.9° W | 20 km | Named after nearby Gruithuisen crater | |
| Mons Gruithuisen Gamma | 36.6° N 40.5° W | 20 km | Named after nearby Gruithuisen crater | |
| Mons Hadley | 26.5° N 4.7° E | 25 km | 4.6 km | John Hadley , inventor |
| Mons Hadley Delta | 25.8° N 3.8° E | 15 km | 3.5 km | Named after nearby Mount Hadley |
| Mons Hansteen | 12.1° S 50.0° W | 30 km | Named after nearby Hansteen crater | |
| Mons Herodotus | 27.5° N 53.0° W | 5 km | Named after nearby Herodotus crater | |
| Mons Huygens | 20.0° N 2.9° W | 40 km | 4.7 km | Christian Huygens , astronomer |
| Mons La Hire | 27.8° N 25.5° W | 25 km | 1.5 km | Philippe de la Hire , astronomer |
| Mons Maraldi | 20.3° N 35.3° E | 15 km | 1.3 km | Named after nearby Maraldi crater |
| Mons Moro | 12.0° S 19.7° W | 10 km | Antonio Lazzaro Moro , earth scientist | |
| Mons Penck | 10.0° S 21.6° E | 30 km | 4. km | Albrecht Penck , geographer |
| Mons Pico | 45.7° N 8.9° W | 25 km | 2. km | Spanish for "peak" |
| Mons Piton | 40.6° N 1.1° W | 25 km | 2.3 km | Mount Piton , Tenerife |
| Mons Rümker | 40.8° N 58.1° W | 70 km | 0.5 km | Karl Ludwig Christian Rümker , astronomer |
| Mons Usov | 12.0° N 63.0° E | 15 km | Mikhail A. Usov , geologist | |
| Mons Vinogradov | 22.4° N 32.4° W | 25 km | 1.4 km | Aleksandr Pavlovich Vinogradov , chemist |
| Mons Vitruvius | 19.4° N 30.8° E | 15 km | 2.3 km | Named after nearby Vitruvius crater |
| Mons Wolff | 17.0° N 6.8° W | 35 km | 3.5 km | Baron Christian von Wolff , philosopher |
Mountain ranges
| Name | Lat. /Long. | Dia. | Name Origin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montes Agricola | 141 km | Georgius Agricola , earth scientist | |
| Montes Alpes | 281 km | The Alps , Europe | |
| Montes Apenninus | 401 km | The Apennine Mountains , Italy | |
| Montes Archimedes | 163 km | Named after nearby Archimedes crater | |
| Montes Carpatus | 361 km | The Carpathian Mountains , Europe | |
| Montes Caucasus | 445 km | The Caucasus Mountains , Europe | |
| Montes Cordillera | 574 km | Spanish for "mountain chain" | |
| Montes Haemus | 560 km | Greek name for the Balkan Mountains | |
| Montes Harbinger | 90 km | Harbingers of dawn on Aristarchus crater | |
| Montes Jura | 422 km | The Jura Mountains , Europe | |
| Montes Pyrenaeus | 164 km | The Pyrenees Mountains , Europe | |
| Montes Recti | 90 km | Latin for "straight range" | |
| Montes Riphaeus | 189 km | Greek name for the Ural Mountains , Russia | |
| Montes Rook | 791 km | Lawrence Rook , astronomer | |
| Montes Secchi | 50 km | Named after nearby Secchi crater | |
| Montes Spitzbergen | 60 km | Named after German for "sharp peaks" and for resemblance to the Spitsbergen islands | |
| Montes Taurus | 172 km | Taurus Mountains , Asia Minor | |
| Montes Teneriffe | 182 km | Tenerife island |